Golf Club Head With Binder Jet Printed Lattice Support Structures

ABSTRACT

Golf club components with complex structures such as lattice structures, beam structures, and complex surface-based structures, are described herein. A binder jet machine is used create complex structures within these golf club components to optimize weighting, sound, and performance of golf club heads. These components may be manufactured using a method that includes the steps of designing a golf club head component in CAD using optimization software, printing the component from a powdered material, and then removing excess powder from the component via port holes that extend into an external surface of the component and communicate with interior voids within the component.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/740,394, filed on May 10, 2022, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/327,483, filed onMay 21, 2021, and issued on May 17, 2022, as U.S. Pat. No. 11,331,544,which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/166,028,filed on Mar. 25, 2021, the disclosure of each of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to methods of manufacturing golf clubcomponents with complex structures that are difficult, impossible, orcost prohibitive to produce via prior art methods, such as cell-basedlattice patterns, beam-based structures, and complex surface-basedstructures, and golf club components, including golf club heads,manufactured to include such patterns and/or structures.

Description of the Related Art

Traditional manufacturing processes, which include investment casting,injection molding, compression molding, metal injection molding,forging, stamping, and forming place many constraints on the design ofgolf club heads and club head components, preventing manufacturers fromfully customizing and optimizing their products. Some of theseconstraints include draw direction, taper, minimum wall thickness, draftangles, minimum radii, and maximum feature height.

Typical additive manufacturing techniques, also known as 3D printing,can eliminate or reduce the severity of these constraints, but havetheir own drawbacks. For example, direct metal laser sintering (DMLS),direct metal laser melting (DMLM), and electron beam additivemanufacturing (EBAM) use controlled energy sources, including lasers andelectron beams in which intense, extremely localized heat is applied tometal powder to melt and/or sinter adjacent particles together. Thisintense heat tends to cause warping, porosity (which createsinconsistent density throughout the part), distortion, surface defects,and even cracking of the parts during the build process, even when thelaser intensity, focal length, and path speed are optimal.

Other characteristics of these techniques include using very smallmoving points to build parts, provide limited solutions for removingexcess powder from the finished part, require significantpost-processing to remove supports and support footprints on thesurface, and require a very specific grade of metal powder (e.g.,smaller than 40 microns, spherical particles) for high resolution and toguarantee an even sintering and a relatively smooth surface finish.These characteristics render these techniques suboptimal andcost-prohibitive for golf club manufacturing purposes.

The most significant drawback of the DMLS and DMLM techniques is theconstraint they place on overhang angle, examples of which are shown inFIG. 41 . As golf club parts are built, structures created by the priorart additive manufacturing techniques described above are notself-supporting, with thin beads of sintered material tending to sag andfall if they are not supported by connections to the build plate oranother portion of the part that has already been fully sintered. As aresult, a typical design requirement is that all surfaces be no morethan 45° from the build axis, but the limit is typically 30-60°. Theonly alternative to the overhang angle design requirement is to addsupports to the structure to help prevent sagging during the buildprocess. The supports used for DMLS, DMLM, and EBAM are metal and aredirectly connected to the part, and are difficult to remove withoutnegatively affecting the surface finish on the part or creating a largeopening in the club head.

The overhang angle constraint dramatically limits the potential ofotherwise promising designs that are based on modern generative designtechniques like topology optimization. It also severely limits thetypes, orientations and sizes of cells that can be manufactured to formlattices. Even when a designer settles on a cell type that satisfies theoverhang constraint, there is often no room for further optimization ofthe lattice via purposeful warping, skewing or otherwise stretchingportions of the lattice to generate an improved design. It is alsoimpractical to use metal supports to make fine lattice structuresfeasible to manufacture. If a lattice were to include overhanging beamsand the beams are supported, the supports would be impossible to remove.

As described above, the prior does not provide additive manufacturingtechniques that are optimized for creation of golf club components.Therefore, there is a need for a 3D printing method that creates highquality, high performing golf club heads and also allows for the easyremoval of excess printing material.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is a golf club head comprising aface component, a body component comprising a sole, a crown, an insertwith a lattice structure, and a weight, wherein the face component isaffixed to the body component and to the crown, wherein the solecomprises a recess, and wherein the lattice structure is compressedwithin the recess between the sole and the weight.

In some embodiments, the lattice structure comprises a series ofinterconnected beams, each of which may have a circular cross-section,each of which may connect to another beam in a repeating pattern, andeach end of each beam may be connected to at least one other beam. In afurther embodiment, the lattice structure may comprise a plurality ofgeometric cells, at least 25% of which may have identical dimensions. Inan alternative embodiment, at least 25% of the cells of the plurality ofcells may have a characteristic different from all other cells of theplurality of cells, and the characteristic may be selected from thegroup consisting of size, aspect ratio, skew, and beam diameter.

In other embodiments, the recess may extend into an external surface ofthe sole, and the insert may be sized to fit within the recess. In afurther embodiment, an external surface of the weight may be flush withthe external surface of the sole when the insert is compressed withinthe recess between the weight and the sole. In another embodiment, thegolf club head may further comprise a mechanical fastener, the sole maycomprise at least one threaded opening sized to receive at least aportion of the mechanical fastener, and the mechanical fastener mayaffix the weight to the sole. In a further embodiment, the recess may bedivided by at least one strut, and the at least one threaded opening maybe disposed within the at least one strut.

In other embodiments, the weight may comprise a plurality ofthrough-openings, and in a further embodiment, at least a portion of theinsert may be visible through the through-openings. In anotherembodiment, the insert may comprise at least one curved surface, whichmay contact the weight. In still other embodiments, the weight may notcontact any portion of the body component. In other embodiments, each ofthe sole and the crown may be composed of a non-metal material selectedfrom the group consisting of plastic and composite, and the facecomponent may be composed of a metal material.

In any embodiment, the insert may be binder jet printed from a non-metalmaterial, and the lattice structure may comprise a plurality ofgeometric cells selected from the group consisting of simple cubic, bodycentered cubic, face centered cubic, diamond, Fluorite, octet, truncatedcube, truncated octahedron, kelvin cell, isotruss, and Weaire-Phelan. Ina further embodiment, the weight may comprise a tungsten alloy.

Another aspect of the present invention is a driver-type golf club headcomprising a sole comprising a recess proximate an aft edge, a non-metalcrown, a metal face component affixed to the crown and to the soleopposite the aft edge, a binder jet printed insert with a latticestructure, a metal weight comprising a plurality of through-openings,and at least one mechanical fastener, wherein the sole comprises atleast one support strut that divides the recess, wherein the at leastone support strut comprises at least one threaded opening, wherein theinsert comprises at least one curved surface, wherein a portion of theat least one mechanical fastener extends through the weight to engagewith at least one threaded opening and affix the weight to the sole,wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of non-orderedbeams, each of which has a cross-sectional shape selected from the groupconsisting of circular and elliptical, wherein the lattice structurecomprises a plurality of geometric cells comprising voids, a majority ofwhich do not include any material, wherein the insert is compressedwithin the recess between the sole and the weight, wherein a portion ofthe insert is visible through at least one of the through-openings inthe weight, wherein the at least one curved surface contacts the weight,and wherein no portion of the weight contacts the sole.

In some embodiments, each of the sole and the crown may be composed of acomposite material, the face component may be composed of a metalmaterial selected from the group consisting of steel and titanium alloy.In other embodiments, the insert may be composed of a non-metalmaterial, and the lattice structure may comprise a uniform finalmaterial density of at least 90%. In other embodiments, the weight maybe composed of a tungsten alloy. In alternative embodiments, the weightmay be composed of a material selected from the group consisting oftitanium alloy, steel, and aluminum alloy.

Having briefly described the present invention, the above and furtherobjects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by thoseskilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description ofthe invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a process flow chart illustrating a binder jetting process.

FIG. 2 is an image of an exemplary binder jet machine.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a uniform lattice pattern.

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top plan, 40° filtered from XY plane view of the latticepattern shown in FIG. 3 .

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of a twisted lattice pattern.

FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a top perspective, 40° filtered from XY plane view of thelattice pattern shown in FIG. 7 .

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a variable density lattice pattern.

FIG. 11 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG.10 .

FIG. 12 is a top plan, 40° filtered from XY plane view of the latticepattern shown in FIG. 10 .

FIG. 13 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG.12 .

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of a non-ordered collection of beams andtetrahedral cell lattice pattern.

FIG. 15 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG.14 .

FIG. 16 is a top plan, 40° filtered from XY plane view of the latticepattern shown in FIG. 14 .

FIG. 17 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG.16 .

FIG. 18 is top plan view of a conformal, spherical top lattice pattern.

FIG. 19 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG.18 .

FIG. 20 is a top plan, 40° filtered from XY plane view of the latticepattern shown in FIG. 18 .

FIG. 21 is a side perspective view of the lattice pattern shown in FIG.20 .

FIG. 22 is a top plan view of a unit cell of a lattice.

FIG. 23 is a side perspective view of the unit cell shown in FIG. 22 .

FIG. 24 is a sole perspective view of a putter head with a sole puckformed from a lattice.

FIG. 25 is a sole plan view of the putter head shown in FIG. 24 .

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of the putter head shown in FIG. 25taken along lines 26-26.

FIG. 27 is a sole plan view of another embodiment of a putter head witha sole puck formed from a lattice.

FIG. 28 is a sole plan view of another embodiment of a putter head witha sole puck formed from a lattice.

FIG. 29 is a sole perspective view of another embodiment of a putterhead with a sole puck formed from a lattice.

FIG. 30 is a side perspective view of an iron head with a rear insertformed from a lattice.

FIG. 31 is a rear perspective view of the iron head shown in FIG. 30 .

FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view of the iron head shown in FIG. 31taken along lines 32-32.

FIG. 33 is a top elevational view of a driver head with a latticeinsert.

FIG. 34 is a side perspective view of the driver head shown in FIG. 33 .

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view of the driver head shown in FIG. 33taken along lines 35-35.

FIG. 36 is cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a driver headwith a different lattice insert.

FIG. 37 is a side plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 36 .

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 36taken along lines 38-38.

FIG. 39 is a sole perspective view of another embodiment of a driverhead with a different lattice insert.

FIG. 40 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 39 .

FIG. 41 is a rear perspective view of a face insert comprising alattice.

FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional view of the face insert shown in FIG. 41taken along lines 42-42.

FIG. 43 is a drawing of a build plate with beams having differentoverhang angles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to improved methods of printing golfclub components and golf club heads, and particularly the use of abinder jet machine to create complicated support structures from variousmaterials that improve the support, mass distribution, and acoustics ofthe golf club heads, while allowing for the easy removal of unusedpowder. The present invention is also directed to golf club heads withcomponents that are printed using the methods disclosed herein.

Binder Jet Process

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the binder jet process 10 includes afirst step 11 of spreading layers of powder 30 evenly across the buildplate 22 of a binder jet machine 20; this step can be performed manuallyor with a re-coater or roller device 25. This occurs in the build box 21portion of the binder jet machine 20, where a build plate 22 lowers aseach layer of powder 30 is applied. In a second step 12, a printer head24 deposits liquid binder 35 on the appropriate regions for each layerof powder 30, leaving unbound powder 32 within the build box 21. In athird step 13, the binder bonds adjacent powder particles together. In afourth step 14, the first and second steps 11, 12 are repeated as manytimes as desired by the manufacturer to form a green (unfinished) part40 with an intended geometry.

In an optional fifth step 15, a portion of the binder 35 is removedusing a debinding process, which may be via a liquid bath or by heatingthe green part to melt or vaporize the binder. In a sixth step 16, thegreen part 40 is sintered in a furnace, where, at the elevatedtemperature, the metal particles repack, diffuse, and flow into voids,causing a contraction of the overall part. As this sintering step 16continues, adjacent particles eventually fuse together, forming a finalpart, examples of which (reference characters 140, 250, 350, and 400)are shown in FIGS. 24-40 . This process causes 10-25% shrinkage of thepart from the green state 40 to its final form 50, and the final parthas a void content that is less than 10% throughout. In someembodiments, the debinding and sintering steps 15, 16 may be conductedin the same furnace. In an optional step 17, before the binder jetprocess 10 begins, optimization software can be used to design a highperformance club head or component in CAD. This step allows themanufacturer to use individual player measurements, club head deliverydata, and impact location in combination with historical player data andmachine learning, artificial intelligence, stochastic analysis, and/orgradient based optimization methods to create a superior club componentor head design.

Though binder jetting is a powder-based process for additivemanufacturing, it differs in key respects from other directed energypowder based systems like DMLS, DMLM, and EBAM. The binder jet process10 provides key efficiency and cost saving improvements over DMLM, DMLS,and EBAM that makes it uniquely suitable for use in golf club componentmanufacturing. For example, binder jetting is more energy efficientbecause it is not performed at extremely elevated temperatures and is amuch less time consuming process, with speeds up to one hundred timesfaster than DMLS. The secondary debinding step 15 and sintering step 16are batch processes which help keep overall cycle times low, and greenparts 40 can be stacked in a binder jet machine 20 in three dimensionsbecause the powder is generally self-supporting during the buildprocess, obviating the requirement for supports or direct connections toa build plate. Therefore, because there is no need to remove beams,members, or ligaments because of length, aspect ratio, or overhang anglerequirements, lattice structures can take any form and have a much widerrange of geometries than are possible when provided by prior artprinting methods.

The binder jet process 10 also allows for printing with differentpowdered materials, including metals and non-metals like plastic. Itworks with standard metal powders common in the metal injection molding(MIM) industry, which has well-established and readily available powdersupply chains in place, so the metal powder used in the binder jetprocess 10 is generally much less expensive than the powders used in theDMLS, DMLM, and EBAM directed energy modalities. The improved designfreedom, lower cost and faster throughput of binder jet makes itsuitable for individually customized club heads, prototypes, and largerscale mass-produced designs for the general public.

Lattice Structures

The binder jet process described above allows for the creation oflattice structures, including those with beams that would otherwiseviolate the standard overhang angle limitation set by DMLM, DMLS, andEBAM. It can also be used to create triply periodic minimal surfaces(TPMS) and non-periodic or non-ordered collections of beams.

Compressing or otherwise reducing the size of cells in a section of thelattice increases the effective density and stiffness in those regions.Conversely, expanding the size of the cells is an effective way tointentionally design in a reduction of effective density and stiffness.Effective density is defined as the density of a unit of volume in whicha fully dense material may be combined with geometrically designed-invoids, which can be filled with air or another material, and/or withanother or other fully dense materials. The unit volume can be definedusing a geometrically functional space, such as the lattice cell shownin FIGS. 22-23 or a three dimensional shape fitted to a typical section,and in particular the volume of a sphere with a diameter that is threeto five times the equivalent diameter of the nearest beam or collectionof beams. The binder jet process allows for the creation of a structurewith a uniform final material density of at least 90%, meaning that theporosity of the beams and surfaces that make up the lattice structure isrelatively low, resulting in the average mass density of the structureis at least 90% of the expected density of the structure if it were tohave zero porosity. This contrasts with previous uses of DMLM, DMLS, andEBAM to change the actual material density by purposely creatingunstructured porosity in parts.

Examples of lattice structures 60 that can be created using the process10 described above are shown in FIGS. 3-21 , and include warped,twisted, distorted, curved, and stretched lattices that can optimize thestructure for any given application. Individual lattice cells 70 areshown in FIGS. 22-23 , and may be used in addition to or instead of morecomplex lattice structures 60. FIGS. 5, 6, 9-10, 12, 16, 20 and 21illustrate what the more complicated structures look like when a 40degree overhang limitation is applied: a significant portion of thestructure is lost. Another benefit of not having an overhang anglelimitation is that manufacturers can create less ordered or non-orderedcollections of beams. The lattice structures 60 shown herein may haverepeating cells 70 or cells with gradual and/or continuously changingsize, aspect ratio, skew, and beam diameter. The change rate betweenadjacent cells 70 and beams 80 may be 10%, 25%, 50%, and up to 100%, andthis change pattern may apply to all or only some of the volume occupiedby the lattice structure.

Cell 70 type can change abruptly if different regions of a componentneed different effective material properties, but size, aspect ratio,skew, beam diameter can then change continuously as distance from thecell type boundary increases. The diameter of the beams 80 may beconstant or tapered, and while their cross sections are typicallycircular, they can also be elliptical like the structural membersdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,835,789, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety herein. Such structures maytake the form of a series of connected tetrahedral cells 70, as shown inFIGS. 14-15 . The lack of an overhang constraint allows for the beams 80to be oriented in any fashion and therefor allows for the generation ofa conformal lattice of virtually any size and shape. Modern meshingsoftware also provide quick and simple method by which to fill volumesand vary the lattice density via non-ordered tetrahedral cells.Tetrahedral cells 70 are also very useful for varying cell size andshape throughout a part. Cell 70 types may also include simple cubic,body centered cubic, face centered cubic, diamond, fluorite, octet,truncated cube, truncated octahedron, kelvin cell, isotruss, andWeaire-Phelan.

Lattice Applications in Golf Club Heads

The binder jet process 10 permits manufacturers to take full advantageof generative design and topology optimization results, examples ofwhich are shown in the context of putter heads 100 in FIGS. 24-29 , aniron-type golf club head 200 in FIGS. 30-32 , driver-type golf clubheads 300 in FIGS. 33-40 , and a face insert 400 with a variablethickness pattern 410 in FIGS. 39 and 40 . The lattice structures 60disclosed herein can be built into their respective golf club heads inone 3D printing step, or may be formed separately from the golf clubhead and then permanently affixed to the golf club head at a later time.These designs illustrate the kinds of improvements to golf club headcenter of gravity (CG), moment of inertia (MOI), stress, acoustics(e.g., modal frequencies), ball speed, launch angle, spin rates,forgiveness, and robustness that can be made when manufacturingconstraints are removed via the use of optimization software and 3Dprinting.

A first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 23-25 .The putter head 100 of this embodiment includes a body 110 with a faceportion 112 and a face recess 113, a top portion 114, and a sole portion116 with a sole recess 117, a face insert 120 disposed within the facerecess 113, and sole weights 130, 135 and a sole insert or puck 140affixed within the sole recess 117 so that the weights 130, 135 aredisposed on heel and toe sides of the puck 140. The body 110 of theputter, and particularly the top portion 114, is formed of a metal alloyhaving a first density and has a body CG. The weights 130, 135 arepreferably located as far as possible from the body CG and are composedof a metal alloy having a second density greater than the first density.While the hosel 118 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 23-25 is formedintegrally with the body 110, in other embodiments it may be formedseparately from a different material and attached in a secondary stepduring manufacturing.

The puck 140 is printed using the binder jet process described abovefrom at least one material with a third density that is lower than thefirst and second densities, and comprises one or more lattice structures60 that fill the volume of the sole recess 117, freeing up discretionarymass to be used in high-density weighting at other locations on theputter head 100, preferably at the heel and toe edges and/or the rearedge 115. The materials from which the puck 140 may be printed includeplastic, nylon, polycarbonate, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, andpolyetherketoneketone. These materials can be reinforced with fiberssuch as carbon, fiberglass, Kevlar®, boron, and/orultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, which may be continuous orlong relative to the size of the part or the putter, or very short.

Other putter head 100 embodiments are shown in FIGS. 27-29 . In theseembodiments, the weights 130, 135 are threaded and are disposed at therear edge 115 of the body, on either side and mostly behind the puck140. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 27 and 29 , the pucks 140 havedifferent lattice patterns 60 than the one shown in FIGS. 24-26 , and donot fill the entirety of the sole recess 117. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 28 , the puck 140 has another lattice pattern 60 and fills theentirety of the sole recess 117. In any of these embodiments, puck 140may be bonded and/or mechanically fixed to the body 110. The materials,locations, and dimensions may be customized to suit particular players.

In each of these embodiments, the weights 130, 135 preferably are madeof a higher density material than the body 110, though in otherembodiments, they may have an equivalent density or lower density.Moving weight away from the center improves the mass properties of theputter head 100, increasing MOI and locating the CG at a point on theputter head 100 that reduces twist at impact, reduces offline misses,and improves ball speed robustness on mishits.

As shown in the iron club head 200 of FIGS. 30 and 31 , the latticestructures 60 of the present invention can be formed into an insert 250that entirely fills a rear cavity 215 of the iron body 210. Inalternative embodiments, the insert 250 may fill only a portion of therear cavity 215, depending on the cosmetic, damping, and mass propertyrequirements of the manufacturer.

Alternatively, as shown in the driver-type golf club heads 300 of FIGS.33-38 , the lattice insert 350 of the present invention fills only aportion of the internal cavity 320. For example, in FIGS. 33-35 , thelattice insert 350, which has a curved upper surface 355, contacts onlyan interior surface 335 of the sole 330 and is spaced from a rear facesurface 305 of the body 310. As shown in FIGS. 36-38 , the latticeinsert 350 extends from the sole 330 to the crown insert 360 proximate achannel component 338, and has at least one curved surface 352.

In other embodiments, such as the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS.39-40 , the lattice insert 350 may be disposed on an exterior surface ofthe golf club head 300, like the putter embodiments in FIGS. 24-29 . Inthe preferred embodiment, the driver type golf club head 300 comprises asole 330 with a recess 360 proximate the aft end 336 that is divided bya support strut 370. The support strut 370 includes one or more threadedopenings 372, 374 sized to receive mechanical fasteners 380 such as abolt or a screw. The threaded openings 372, 374 may be integrally formedwith the sole 330 or may be affixed to the sole 330 via separatecomponents after the sole is manufactured. If the sole 330 is composedof a non-metal material, the threaded openings 372, 374 preferably aredisposed within separate components composed of a lightweight metalmaterial such as brass, steel, titanium alloy, or aluminum alloy.

A lattice structure 350 composed of a material having strain ratesensitive mechanical properties is sized to fit within and substantiallyfill the recess 360. A weight structure 390 having one or more threadedopenings 392, 294 is then placed over the lattice structure 350 andaffixed to the sole 330 with the mechanical fasteners 380. As shown inFIGS. 39-40 , the weight 390 preferably has a truss-like structure witha plurality of through-openings 397 so that the lattice structure 350 isvisible to a golfer when the golf club head 300 is fully assembled. Whenthe mechanical fasteners 380 are tightened, the weight structure 390compresses the lattice structure 350 until an external surface 395 ofthe weight structure 390 is flush with an external surface 332 of thesole 330 (or other surface of the golf club head 300). The weight 390,which spaces mass away from the surface of the golf club head 300, doesnot have to make direct contact with the sole 330, but may entirely reston the lattice structure 350, thereby preventing stress from beingplaced on the sole by the weight 390.

The weight 390 preferably is composed of a higher density material thanthat of the sole 330 or other parts of the golf club head 300, such as atungsten alloy, though in an alternative embodiment the weight 390 maycomposed of lower density material such as titanium alloy, steel, oraluminum alloy, and can be used predominantly for compressing thelattice structure 350 within the recess 360. In such embodiments, theheads of the mechanical fasteners 380 may be composed of higher densitymaterial to provide a desired mass.

The material from which the lattice structure 350 is manufactured makesit soft enough to conform to spacing between the weight structure 390and the sole 330 during installation, but also rigid enough when theclub head 300 impacts a ball to prevent the golf club head 300 latticestructure 350—weight structure 390 assembly from coming apart. Thisconfiguration may be used in other golf club heads, such as fairwaywoods, hybrids, and irons. The configuration of the preferred embodimentallows the lattice structure to act as a gasket that fills in the recess360 and separates the weighting structure 400 from the sole 330 or othersurfaces of the golf club head 300. This improves the moment of inertiaand center of gravity position of the golf club head 300 while bringingacoustics to an acceptable level.

Excess Powder Removal

The increased design freedom provided by binder jetting allows for thecreation of fully enclosed void volumes with a few, small vent holes forpowder removal, which can later be plugged (if needed) via spot weld,threaded fastener, cap, cover, medallion, adhesive, or other means knownto a person skilled in the art. The absence of metal support structuresallows hollow structures like a typical driver head or fairway wood tobe printed with only small vent holes for powder removal. Removal ofpowder reduces the overall mass of printed golf club head components andimproves their structural integrity.

Each of the designs disclosed herein have a plurality of openings thatpermit removal of excess printing material. Another example of a golfclub component with such holes is shown in FIGS. 39 and 40 withreference to a binder jet printed face insert 400 having a variablethickness pattern 410. This face insert 400 has a plurality of portholes 402 encircling the insert 400 along its outer edge 405, also knownas the weld joint. The port holes 402 extend from the outer edge 405 andconnect with central voids 420 where excess powder 30 is trapped afterthe sintering process is complete. The greater the surface area of thepart, in this case the face insert 400, the greater number of port holes420 are required to efficiently remove the excess powder 30.

Once excess powder 30 is removed from the face insert 400, preferablyvia shaking and polishing steps, the insert 400 can be welded into agolf club head 300 to ensure that the resulting final product does notviolate any USGA rules against open holes. The port holes 402 preferablyare placed in strategic locations on the face insert 400 or other partsof the golf club heads such that they fall within a weld zone, a bondingzone, under a medallion, and/or in a brazing zone. In other words, theport holes 402 are located in a region on the part where a secondaryprocess will cover them up. This allows for the excess powder 30 to beevacuated in the raw state, and then for the port hole 402 to be coveredonce the raw part is made into a golf club head 300.

Entire heads, or head components, can be printed and assembled using themethods disclosed herein from materials such as steel, titanium, carbonfiber composites, and other structural materials. If golf clubcomponents are printed as disclosed herein, they can be attached totraditionally manufactured components via welding, bonding, brazing,soldering, and/or other techniques known in the art. The methods of thepresent invention are applicable to any type of club head, includingputters, wedges, irons, hybrids, fairway woods, and drivers.

From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinentart will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention andwill readily understand that while the present invention has beendescribed in association with a preferred embodiment thereof, and otherembodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, numerous changes,modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which isintended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in thefollowing appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments of the inventionin which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined inthe following appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A golf club head comprising: a face component; a bodycomponent comprising a sole; a crown; an insert with a latticestructure; and a weight, wherein the face component is affixed to thebody component and to the crown, wherein the sole comprises a recess,and wherein the lattice structure is compressed within the recessbetween the sole and the weight.
 2. The golf club head of claim 1,wherein the lattice structure comprises a series of interconnectedbeams, wherein each beam has a circular cross-section, wherein each beamconnects to another beam in a repeating pattern, and wherein each end ofeach beam is connected to at least one other beam.
 3. The golf club headof claim 2, wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality ofgeometric cells, and wherein at least 25% of the cells of the pluralityof cells have identical dimensions.
 4. The golf club head of claim 2,wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of geometric cells,and wherein at least 25% of the cells of the plurality of cells have acharacteristic different from all other cells of the plurality of cells,and wherein the characteristic is selected from the group consisting ofsize, aspect ratio, skew, and beam diameter.
 5. The golf club head ofclaim 1, wherein the recess extends into an external surface of thesole, and wherein the insert is sized to fit within the recess.
 6. Thegolf club head of claim 5, wherein an external surface of the weight isflush with the external surface of the sole when the insert iscompressed within the recess between the weight and the sole.
 7. Thegolf club head of claim 5, further comprising a mechanical fastener,wherein the sole comprises at least one threaded opening sized toreceive at least a portion of the mechanical fastener, and wherein themechanical fastener affixes the weight to the sole.
 8. The golf clubhead of claim 7, wherein the recess is divided by at least one strut,and wherein the at least one threaded opening is disposed within the atleast one strut.
 9. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the weightcomprises a plurality of through-openings.
 10. The golf club head ofclaim 9, wherein at least a portion of the insert is visible through thethrough-openings.
 11. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the insertcomprises at least one curved surface, and wherein the at least onecurved surface contacts the weight.
 12. The golf club head of claim 1,wherein the weight does not contact any portion of the body component.13. The golf club head of claim 1, wherein each of the sole and thecrown is composed of a non-metal material selected from the groupconsisting of plastic and composite, and wherein the face component iscomposed of a metal material.
 14. The golf club head of claim 1, whereinthe insert is binder jet printed from a non-metal material, and whereinthe lattice structure comprises a plurality of geometric cells selectedfrom the group consisting of simple cubic, body centered cubic, facecentered cubic, diamond, Fluorite, octet, truncated cube, truncatedoctahedron, kelvin cell, isotruss, and Weaire-Phelan.
 15. The golf clubhead of claim 14, wherein the weight comprises a tungsten alloy.
 16. Adriver-type golf club head comprising: a sole comprising a recessproximate an aft edge; a non-metal crown; a metal face component affixedto the crown and to the sole opposite the aft edge; a binder jet printedinsert with a lattice structure; a metal weight comprising a pluralityof through-openings; and at least one mechanical fastener, wherein thesole comprises at least one support strut that divides the recess,wherein the at least one support strut comprises at least one threadedopening, wherein the insert comprises at least one curved surface,wherein a portion of the at least one mechanical fastener extendsthrough the weight to engage with at least one threaded opening andaffix the weight to the sole, wherein the lattice structure comprises aplurality of non-ordered beams, each of which has a cross-sectionalshape selected from the group consisting of circular and elliptical,wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of geometric cellscomprising voids, a majority of which do not include any material,wherein the insert is compressed within the recess between the sole andthe weight, wherein a portion of the insert is visible through at leastone of the through-openings in the weight, wherein the at least onecurved surface contacts the weight, and wherein no portion of the weightcontacts the sole.
 17. The driver-type golf club head of claim 16,wherein each of the sole and the crown is composed of a compositematerial, and wherein the face component is composed of a metal materialselected from the group consisting of steel and titanium alloy.
 18. Thedriver-type golf club head of claim 16, wherein the insert is composedof a non-metal material, and wherein the lattice structure comprises auniform final material density of at least 90%.
 19. The driver-type golfclub head of claim 16, wherein the weight is composed of a tungstenalloy.
 20. The driver-type golf club head of claim 16, wherein theweight is composed of a material selected from the group consisting oftitanium alloy, steel, and aluminum alloy.